Republicans maintain Calif. legislative seat

SACRAMENTO, Calif. 
Voters along California's Central Coast on Tuesday turned back a Democratic attempt to gain more power in the state Legislature, electing a Republican to fill a vacant state Senate seat.

The win by state Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee denies Democrats the opportunity to consolidate their power in the Senate and come within one vote of claiming the two-thirds majority needed to pass budget plans and tax increases.

The special election drew interest from around the state, both in endorsements and campaign donations. Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman campaigned for Blakeslee, while President Barack Obama endorsed the Democratic candidate, former Assemblyman John Laird of Santa Cruz.

Obama compared the stakes to what he faces in Washington, where a Republican minority attempts to block his priorities.

Blakeslee, of San Luis Obispo, said voters appeared to have picked the candidate who vowed to cut spending in Sacramento.

"I think it's clear now that with 99 percent of the precincts reporting and the absentees counted, this election is now over, but that only begins the really hard work, which is fixing California," Blakeslee said by telephone Tuesday night.

Laird was not ready to concede the race, hoping late absentee ballots would help him claim victory.

"It's a big hurdle to overcome," Laird acknowledged. "We want to wait and see what poll voters do."

The 15th Senate District includes all or parts of five counties. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Blakeslee had 48.8 percent of the vote to Laird's 44.1 percent. The more liberal counties, Monterey and Santa Cruz, went for Laird, while San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties pulled strongly for Blakeslee.

According to the unofficial results, just 1 percentage point separated the candidates in Santa Clara County, which has the second highest number of voters in the district.

Libertarian and independent candidates were trailing in the single digits.

Republicans are the minority party in California but hold enormous influence because of the two-thirds vote required to pass budgets and tax increases through the Legislature.

"On any given day, this is a district that could and should elect a Democrat, but it's very clear that Republicans, Democrats, decline-to-state voters and independents, they want to make sure their representative holds the line on tax increases," Hollingsworth said.

Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 41 percent to 34 percent in the district, but voters have elected Republicans to represent them since 1996.

"Voters deserve representatives in Sacramento who will fight for the people of California above all else, and Senator-elect Blakeslee is a prime example of someone who rises above the politics of Sacramento," the Republican governor said in a statement.

The candidates raised at least $1 million each trying to get the edge in the closely contested election, while independent expenditure committees poured another $1 million or more into the campaign.